Vietnam PM orders resolution of bottlenecks at GS Energy-backed LNG projects

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has directed authorities to resolve outstanding obstacles facing the Long An LNG I and II power projects, worth a total of $3.13 billion and backed by South Korea’s GS Energy, as the government seeks to accelerate large-scale energy investments nationwide.

In a conclusion dated December 22 by the Government Office following an early December working session, Chinh tasked Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son with chairing inter-agency meetings to settle all remaining issues in accordance with regulations, balanced risk-sharing, and fair competition.

Authorities have been instructed to complete the process by December 2025.

The Long An LNG I and II projects received in-principle approval and investment registration certificates in March 2021 from the then Long An province, which was merged into Tay Ninh province in July.

The projects will be developed by VinaCapital GS Energy Pte. Ltd., a joint venture between VinaCapital and South Korea’s GS Energy.

In June 2023, the investors signed an MoU with Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) on project financing. Local authorities approved the projects’ development plan in April 2024, targeting commercial operation of Long An LNG I by June 2028 and Long An LNG II by June 2031.

In March 2025, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long met GS Energy representatives, during which the investor said it had received feasibility study (F/S) appraisal results from the Electricity Authority of Vietnam and was completing final steps for F/S approval.

The developer is currently negotiating a power purchase agreement (PPA) with EVN Electricity Power Trading Company (EVNEPTC), a unit of state utility EVN, and is preparing to sign a preliminary grid connection agreement with National Power Transmission Corporation (NPT). It is also in talks with PV Gas on pipeline and gas supply arrangements.

In October 2025, a group of LNG power investors, including those behind the Long An projects, petitioned Vietnam’s National Assembly, the country's legislature, to consider special mechanisms for LNG developments, citing persistent bottlenecks in PPA negotiations, gas supply agreements, financing structures, and investment procedures.

Vietnam's first LNG power projects are Nhon Trach 3 and 4 in the southern province of Dong Nai, which were inaugurated on December 14 and are scheduled for commercial operations in early 2026.

Vietnam is planning LNG-fired power plants in some localities such as Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Hung Yen, Nghi Sơn, Quang Trach, Hai Lang, Ca Na, Bac Lieu, and Long An.

Under the adjusted Power Development Plan VIII (PDP VIII), the country aims to add nearly 37,500 MW of new gas-fired power capacity, with LNG accounting for around 60%.

However, many projects are facing challenges in securing output offtake agreements to ensure stable cash flows, as well as in planning long-term fuel supply volumes and prices.